The West Platte girls’ basketball team (12-12) waited for the perfect time to score a season-high 55 points as the Lady Jays throttled Stewartville/Osborn (11-16) with a 31-point victory in the opening round of the Class 2 District 15 Tournament on Feb. 19.
West Platte sophomore Julia Pattison, above, finished the Blue Jays first postseason game with 12 points, five assists and two steals in the 55-22 win over Stewartsville/Osborn on Feb. 19.
Coming off a 46-39 regular season finale win over North Platte (18-8) to clinch a third-place finish in the KCI Conference, West Platte used that as momentum in its first postseason victory since 2014. The Blue Jays played a complete game: scoring double-digits in each quarter and shooting 45.1 percent from the field on offense, while forcing 21 turnovers and holding the WildCards to only nine made field goals on defense.
West Platte set the tone of each half with strong first and third quarters when Stewartsville/Osborn only scored two points in each frame. After outscoring the WildCards 15-2 in the opening period and leading 28-14 at the break, the Blue Jays opened the second half with a 14 to two run to take a 42-16 margin entering the final eight minutes.
Colby Shepardson ended the district contest with a double-double when the junior ended with 15 points and 15 rebounds, along with three steals. Madisyn Matlick added 10 points and Avery Holmes knocked down three of her five shots from behind the arc to give the sophomore nine points.
Sophomore point guard Julia Pattison finished the game with 12 points, five assists and two steals. After the 53-24 victory, West Platte advanced to take on Polo (21-6) – who defeated the Blue Jays 48-27 in the North Platte Invitational back on Jan. 24 - in the semifinal on Feb. 22.